Evangelion Fighters
by Organised Kaos
Summary: This is back and it took some time. It should be a bit better than before and what's this Mana is here too? Pls read and review
1. Evangelion Fighters 01 redone

Evangelion Fighters

Part 1

A tall youth stood in the cover of a payphone as he tried to get a call through to wherever.

A message played over the phone, "A state of emergency has been declared in this area, all phone lines have been disconnected, and this is a recording."

The youth sighed as he put the phone back onto its cradle, "What is this?"

Looking around, he saw a young girl in a school uniform, 'Why is that girl here,' Shinji thought in surprise.

Looking around for his bag, he decides to go and ask her what she doing out here, in the few seconds it took him to grab his stuff, she disappeared.

Swearing softly, "Huh, she disappeared. What is going on around here?"

Looking around, at the deserted street, 'Heck, where did everyone go, and when is this Katsuragi person picking me up'

Suddenly his sixth sense spiked, a sense trained rather well by his teacher. Looking up, Shinji spotted several aircraft in battle formation flying against a giant green monster with bony bits of exoskeleton on its shoulders and sides, with a sick parody of a ribcage on the centre of its torso, housing a red orb, located under a bone-like avian face. The battle was not going too well for those in the aircraft, as their projectiles just seemed to explode harmlessly metres away from the monster. A spike of luminescent energy shot out from the thing's hand and blasted an airborne fighter, puncturing the cockpit window and exiting the aircraft's back. The damaged aircraft, careened into a building sending flaming wreckage toward Shinji

.

With a yell, he swore and ran for it, somehow grabbing his bag and his guitar case containing his Rickenbacher, a gift from his sensei. Avoiding flying debris, he noticed a blue car, skidding towards, and threw himself sideways to dodge it.

The passenger door popped open, and a rather attractive woman, in a black dress and driving gloves, leaned over, and said, " Get in, am I late or what?!"

Shinji just threw himself and his stuff into the car, replied, "Move. Go go go! Out of here, first. Introductions later!"

The woman instead of replying grinned and put her foot down. Swerving her way out of the now cluttered street, she dodged debris from the collapsing buildings and explosions from all the downed aircraft. Finally getting untangled from his stuff, Shinji asked, "Miss Katsuragi, I presume?"

"Misato will do fine, you're Shinji Ikari then?" Shinji just nodded. "Not very talkative are you?"

Instead of replying, he just grunted an affirmative and tried to re-arrange his clothing.

Misato, with half an eye on the road, checked out her passenger with the other eye. 'He's actually not bad for a 14 year-old' she noted, as she gave him the once-over, 'he's definitely different from the report.' She noted he wore boots with dark leather pants with a piece of leather strung between the knees, he wore a white button up shirt with a black leather jacket over it and what seemed to be some sort of fighting gloves. It wasn't just his clothes that were strange; he looked almost absolutely nothing like his photo, even though it was taken some time ago. In the photo, he was about average height, a slight, thin frame that had the tone of a swimmer and brown hair that was cut short. Now he had a tall frame with broad shoulders, and seemed quite muscular underneath the shirt, Misato blushed, also noting that he had slightly parted hair with a light reddish tinge that fell forward in bangs that seemed to cover his eyes sometimes. Snapping her attention back to the road, she thought 'he looks more like a 17 year old, than a 14 year old' all the while, blushing. Seeing where she was, she slammed on the brakes and slid sideways onto a shoulder.

Shinji not expecting the sudden shift found his face buried in Misato's lap. Blushing furiously, he carefully extracted himself, while one part of his brain kicked him for doing so. To Misato's amusement, he blushed even more and looked away, "Why have we stopped, Miss Misato?" he asked, his voice was quite deep for his age.

"Not what you're thinking of, you dirty little boy," she replied with a grin.

With a yelp, he stammered, "I'm sss-sorry, I wasn't expecting that!"

"It's okay, I just wanted to stop and check out what's happening out here."

"Well, it seems to be the same thing that's happening, when you picked me up, those guys are getting their butts kicked in," he replied with a shrug.

"Okay, I just like to make sure, just in case," Misato drawled.

Leaning over him, with a pair of binoculars, she spied out onto the battle. Shinji, feeling a bit uncomfortable, tried to rearrange his suddenly tight leather pants, found that he was unable to do so, without touching the woman over him somewhere inappropriate. Settling down, he let his thoughts wander back to the last conversation he held with his guardians. Interrupted by a pair of arms and a yell, he suddenly was pulled down and covered by what he assumed to be Misato's well-developed body. A blast of heated air hit the car, causing it to roll several times, before coming to rest on its side.

Meanwhile, a certain Gendo Ikari observed the mockery of what was considered the heads of the JSSDF. Watching through tinted glasses and hands folded underneath his nose, he observed the generals' efforts to stop the gigantic being.

A voice behind him said, "Seems like an AT-field, hmmm?"

To this Gendo replied, "Of course, conventional weapons are no match against the Angels".

As he spoke, a general ordered an N2 strike, which filled the big screen up front, with garish light, until the shockwave knocked out the video feed. As the generals cheered, he humphed and thought 'how pathetic'. Once the screen was back online, their cheers died and faces filled with triumph, faded to disbelief. One of the generals, received a phone call, and in a tired voice, replied a 'Yes, sir'.

A while later, after watching the fireworks, Shinji asked, "What the hell was that?"

Spitting out dirt and dusting herself off, Misato answered, "Which one, the boom or the thing in the centre of the explosion"

Also spitting out his fair share of dirt, he cried, "Err, both of them!"

"The explosion was caused by an N2 mine, courtesy of the JSSDF, and the thing that stepped on it, was the reason why you were asked to come here, I'll tell you more when we get to HQ. First we got to get the car upright."

Shrugging his shoulders, Shinji just knelt down, grabbed the top part of where the door meets the roof with one hand and heaved with a grunt. Misato on the verge of saying, "You can't do that by yourself." cut short in mid-sentence, dropped her jaw.

Picking up her jaw, she thought, 'how strong is he?' and said, "You're pretty useful to have around, Shinji"

Shinji just looked at her, and replied, "Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment. Let's go".

Once the car parked and the car-train set off, Misato leaned back, giving anyone a good view of her figure in that body-hugging dress, asked, "Hey Shinji, did your father send you an ID card."

"Yeah sure"

With that he pulled out a heavily scrunched up piece of paper out of his bag.

"Good, it looks all okay!" and hands him a brochure that said 'Welcome to NERV, for your eyes only'

"NERV? What's NERV?" Shinji asked.

"NERV? It's a top-secret government agency controlled by the UN. I work there as does your father." Misato answered cheerily.

"So you're in the admirable job of defending humanity?" Shinji snorted.

Misato frowned. "Hey, what's with the sarcasm?"

"Oh, nothing. NERV. My father's agency, so he asked me here to get me to work for him, right. What the heck am I saying? He wouldn't bother sending me a letter, unless he wanted something". Shinji muttered sullenly

"You sound like you don't get along with your dad, just like me", Misato said with a sigh.

"You have no idea. It's time to call in a debt." Shinji grimly muttered as he clenched his fists.

Light suddenly burst into the car-train, light glittered along buildings hung from the ceiling of this cavern like stalactites, and flowed softly onto a lush forest below surrounding a giant pyramidal structure, this is the Geo-front.

To which Shinji just stared, and said, "Now that is cool!!"

"Yeah, it is isn't it, Welcome to our base, NERV Central".

"Oh, the old secret underground base, controlled by a megalomaniac, hell-bent on dominating the earth, huh, sounds like the old man got his dream come true". Misato laughed aloud, and couldn't stop giggling until the car-train stopped.

Gendo got up once he received word of Captain Katsuragi's arrival, he said to the man next to him, "Fuyutsuki, handle the rest of this!"

The silver-haired man just nodded, and smiled ruefully, "It's been five years."

He turned his attention back to the control bridge as Gendo descended on a platform lift to the Cage, "Alright. Upgrade alert status to level three."

Shinji flicked through the brochure; closing it he worked his shoulders to loosen the kinks and to settle his leather guitar case on his back. He had been unwilling to let it of his sight, much to Misato's exasperation even as she got them hopelessly lost in the labyrinth that is NERV.

In a burst of intuition, Shinji called out, "We're lost aren't we, Misato?"

Misato scratched her head and looked over her map to her young charge, "Sorry! I'm not used to this place yet!" she said dejectedly.

"It's okay. I think we should take this turn and use that elevator"

"Why not?" Misato agreed with a shrug, causing quite a bounce.

In another place, a blonde woman in a wetsuit looks up to an announcement, she sighed, "Is she lost again?"

In the elevator, Misato is entertaining thoughts of having Ritsuko hunting her down with an elephant gun, while Shinji done away with the book. He leans on the wall with hands in pockets, looking bored. When the elevator stopped, a blond woman wearing a lab coat with a swimsuit underneath stepped into the elevator. She stared at Misato frigidly for a few moments, making the purple haired woman back away, muttering apologies as she did.

Finally the blond woman directed her gaze to Shinji, noting the guitar case next to him. Shinji returned the stare with an emotionless one of his own.

"This is the boy?"

To which Misato returned with a prompt 'Yes' and something about an institute, which were ignored, as Shinji straightened to his full height, a few inches above the women and continued to stare coldly at scientist.

The air warmed slightly when Misato made the introductions, "Shinji, this is Dr Ritsuko Akagi, NERV's top scientist. Ritsuko, this is Shinji Ikari, the Third Child".

Shinji glowered at Misato, and said, "I resent that 'child' comment".

"Oh! Its nothing but a code for the order in which you have been chosen," answered Dr Akagi.

"Chosen, for what exactly."

"You'll find out" she replied, as they exited the elevator and boarded a Zodiac.

The doors closed with a thump, leaving the trio in darkness, fortunately the lights switched on a few seconds later, to reveal a giant horned face of a purple robot-like object. "Shinji, this was why you were chosen, you are the designated pilot of this artificial life form, Evangelion Unit One." Ritsuko declared.

Shinji flicked a glance from Unit One and the scientist, "Let me get this straight, you want ME to pilot THAT and take it up upstairs to fight the giant outside."

"CORRECT!" answered a deep voice, amplified by loudspeakers, then it added, "It's been awhile".

Shinji looked up, and saw one of the things he hated most: his father. Readjusting the position of the large guitar case on his back, he looked relaxed, nonchalant to be the point of arrogance. Drawling sarcastically, "So it has been. How nice it is to see you again."

Gendo raised an eyebrow, as he fumbled to keep his smirk on his face and mask his surprise, he directed his answer to his son's companions, "We're moving out"

Misato gasped, "Moving out! Unit Zero isn't ready yet, is it?"

Realisation dawned on her, "You're going to use Unit One, but we don't have a pilot."

Ritsuko answered coldly, "We just received one."

"But, but" stammered Misato.

"He just needs to get in the seat," Ritsuko said, leaving no arguments, she turned to face Shinji, "Shinji Ikari, you will pilot it"

"Hm hm hm hm, heh heh heh heh, HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!!!" Gleeful, maniacal laughter echoed off the metal walls of the Cage.

Misato and Ritsuko stared at him in shock, at this young man, holding his forehead with one hand, looking like a homicidal maniac laughing his guts out, it was actually quite scary. As his laughter subsided, he kept an insane grin on his face as he answered, "I don't think I will"

Jaws dropping, the only other that kept his composure was the Commander of NERV, who looked at this unexpected behaviour from his son, who ran away from him three years ago, with a tension which nobody noticed.

Gathering his thoughts, he spoke, "Then leave!!"

His son looked up and said in a low growl, "So you only called me here because you thought you had a use for me isn't that right?"

Gendo, with his words taken out of his mouth, managed a low, "Correct"

"Go screw yourself!"

"Shinji, I'm ordering you to pilot and you will respect my orders," Gendo roared.

"Why should I do this?!" Shinji sneered, "When I hate you to the core."

"Your hate is insignificant. It doesn't not matter in the face of the enemy." Gendo sneered dismissively.

"I've come here for an old debt. One that has waited for ten years, I will not leave without collecting," Shinji's dark blue eyes travelled up to the platform where Gendo was standing. Gendo met the cold stare head on and fear an unfamiliar, yet oh so familiar feeling rise in him, claws threatened to tear out his stomach from the inside, as he saw the promise within Shinji's eyes, a promise of pain and suffering, pain that would be unleashed upon him for one who is going to inflict it has endured just as much.

Gendo breaking eye contact and with a sense of his loss in control, turned to a screen, "Fuyutsuki, wake up Rei".

He was proud that his voice didn't shake at that moment. He had to regain equilibrium within himself before he lost the rest of his composure.

"Is she useable?"

"She isn't dead, yet. Rei, our spare is unusable, you will pilot again." Gendo said softly, as he felt himself calm. 'Yes, this will work'

A feminine voice utters softly, "Yes, sir"

Ritsuko and Misato finally picked themselves up off the floor, astonished at the exchange and seeing the Commander lose his cool, for the first time ever, pulled themselves together and started shouting orders. At one point, Misato walked up to Shinji, who stood hunched like an animal with his hands in his pockets, his reddish hair fell forward covering his eyes, she got an ominous feeling from him, and tried to guide him out of here. At the same time, a pair of double doors opened, admitted a troupe of doctors surrounding a pale young girl on a stretcher. As she passed Shinji, he seemed to wake up a bit to stare at the girl, who was heavily bandaged but wearing a white skin-tight suit with parts cut away to allow for bandages.

Suddenly the place shook, like a child's toy, the red liquid underneath him sloshed around, and the walkway he was on shook violently, spilling the young girl onto to the ground. Above him, a tearing sound announced that beams broke loose and were falling from the ceiling. During this he stood calmly, never losing his balance, until he heard the tearing sound, to which he reacted instantly, flashing a glance upwards, he pushed Misato out of the way, and burst into motion, blurring his way towards the blue-haired girl. At that instant, Unit One's hand broke free from its restraints, with a tearing sound that rivalled the one before it, covered Shinji's path towards the pale-skinned girl.

With gentleness, belying his size and look he picked up the girl and felt something-warm trickle onto his arm. Even without looking he confirmed what it was: blood, he could smell it, this girl was seriously injured before and putting her into battle would be suicide. Hearing the girl's pain-filled, yet soft cry decided him, he called out, "I will pilot this time, but I will collect that debt."

As he slowly unshouldered his guitar case, he noticed the giant hand shielding him. Scrutinising the titan's face, something tickled his memory. Shrugging it aside, he flipped the stretcher upright; he laid the girl on it. He was shocked to see her red eyes, a small wave of dizziness passed over him as he tried to fathom the pain-clouded depths of her crimson orbs. She felt familiar, like he had seen her somewhere before, his eyes widened as he remembered concentrated on her blue hair. He _had_ seen her earlier today, on his way here but that wasn't the point, she felt familiar on some deeper level. He felt he should be close to her but he was sure he had not met her before. Something in her eyes, past the pain, told him that she was feeling the same instinctively, something beyond words connected them. The pain that wracked her frail body broke the moment.

He looked at her as her breathed evened out and her body relaxing slightly, and spoke, "Rest now. Your burdens have eased for now"

Nodding slightly, she drifted off into sleep, to be trundled out by the doctors. Shinji looking up at his father, who had a slight smirk on his face nodded slightly.

"I have a price if I'm to pilot that toy of yours" Shinji's calm voice silenced the beginnings of the Evangelion's preparation.

"We'll see. First I believe you have another enemy to deal with." Gendo smiled slightly and walked away.

A hand touched Shinji's shoulder, he turned snarling, startling a slightly freaked and awed, Misato, she pointed to the white tube standing out of the back of the Eva's neck, and said, "You get in it there."

Shinji nodded and walked towards that direction, while Misato rushed off to join Dr Akagi in the control room. Misato reached the control room just as Shinji was secured into the entry plug and the preparations for Unit One completed, opening a communications window, she addressed Shinji.

"Now that you're in the Entry Plug or the cockpit, if you like, you'll see two plastic knob things, Okay. Put them on. Good, these are neural interfaces, which transmit your thoughts to the Eva, being partly organic, can respond to your thoughts, understood? Let's get this show on the road! Launch Eva!"

Shinji felt a weird distortion of his senses; he felt 40 storeys tall and 6'2 feet at the same time. Suddenly, he got slammed down onto his seat, as the Eva got launched into the city. Breathing this liquid, LCL, wasn't too uncomfortable even though it smelled like blood.

A jerking stop, told him that he reached the city above, one question bothered him though, "Hey Misato, if I can transmit my thoughts to this organic robot, does it transmit what it feels to me?"

Dr Akagi answered, "That's right, Shinji, if the Eva gets damaged, you will feel it but remember it's not actually you who gets damaged".

"Jeez…that's comforting," he deadpanned.

Giggling at this, she said, "Don't worry Shinji. Just stay calm and keep focused".

Turning to Dr Akagi, she asked, "What are his readings?"

"They're fine, a bit tense though, his synchronisation rate is at 43.3 and the connections are stable"

Misato gasped, "How is his sync ratio so high? I mean it took Rei seven months just to synchronise with Unit 00"

"I don't know but I do know, we were extremely fortunate to get him here in time," Ritsuko answered.

At this moment, the Third Angel decided to enter the scene, stepping around a building, it turned to face Unit One. Shinji coolly observed the monster being, in front of him, not noticing his release from the brace that held him. A slow pulsating glow emitted from the red globe in the centre of the being, Misato is calling an Angel, as if it was warning him. He thought, 'What weirdo decided to call this thing an angel!' He didn't realise he had spoken out loud until Misato replied, "I think it was your father"

Instructions came over the communications window, something about just trying to walk first, Shinji decided to ignore it, and began to focus. Reaching in himself, he imagined a flame that burned away unnecessary thoughts and emotions, leaving an emptiness that allowed him to focus on himself, and if he understood correctly the Eva unit itself. Calls demanding his acknowledgment, and approaching enemy fell on his deaf ears, forcing his concentration into an iron point, he set his mind to become one with himself and this weapon he is controlling.

In the control room, Misato frantically tried to get Shinji's attention futilely, while one Maya Ibuki looked up, and yelled, "No, how is this possible, his synch ratio just jumped up another 40 points!!"

"WHAT?!!!!" exclaimed Misato and Ritsuko at the same time.

Gendo, sitting in his trademark position just raised his eyebrow and smirked, which went unnoticed, over the cries of the Operations Manager and NERV's top scientist.

Misato just looked at the main screen, which split into two views, one observing the city outside, and one into the entry plug's interior. The view of the city showed the Angel approached Unit One cautiously, which hasn't done anything since being released except looking more slouched. The other one showed Shinji, with his eyes barely visible through his hair, sitting there unresponding to hails and other stimuli. Suddenly he raised his head, and the Eva unit burst into motion, moving so fast that it was a blur on the screens, slamming into an orange wall, radiating a hexagonal pattern.

Exchanging a glance at Dr Akagi, who looked over the young bridge operator's, Maya's, shoulder, and confirmed her suspicions, when Dr Akagi cried, "His field's not up!"

Gasping Misato gasped in horror, "It's not up! Do something!"

Ritsuko desperately yelled, "We're trying, but we're not getting through to the pilot"

"Huh!" Misato looked at the city view again, just as the Angel let off an energy blast from its eyes, which flared into a cross shape and threw Unit one into a building, a couple hundred metres away. The Third Angel advanced and continued striking Unit one with its energy beam. When it drew close to the downed Evangelion, it reached down and grabbed Unit One by the arm. Unit 01 dangled in the grasped of the Angel, suddenly the muscles in the Angel's arm bulged. Within seconds, Unit 01's arm snapped in the strengthened grip of the celestial being. In the control room, everything was going haywire, the operators yelled out, saying the circuits are breaking, massive damage to the Eva's left arm and torso, that they are losing readings on the pilot, that the Eva was shutting down. Desperately, Misato cried out, "SHIINNJJII!"

Shinji felt the pain caused by the sudden action by the Angel, hatred and fury rose in him crystallising his thoughts and rage, into a single objective, drawing on himself, he attacked, as a red haze clouded his vision.

Suddenly chaos erupted further into the mayhem of the control bridge. Shocked, the faces of the bridge crew just stared as the giant purple behemoth re-activated and launched itself at the Angel again.

"Oh my god, a berserker" Ritsuko Akagi uttered in awe. "The way he's moving, he shouldn't be at this level"

Misato cried out, "Shinji! Is he still controlling the Eva?"

The people who were in hearing range just stared in blatant horror. They watched as the Eva once again slammed against the Angel's AT-field. Rumbling and eyes glowing, the Eva unit opened its jaws with a tearing of metal plates and roared in insane rage. Clutching its left arm, the right hand glowed with purple light, once removed showed a rejuvenated left arm, along with rejoined armour plates. Roaring loudly, the Eva leapt at the Angel again, and began to claw at obstruction between it and the Angel, with broad swiping blows.

Misato and Ritsuko both uttered, "Oh my god, its incredible!"

While in the background, Maya suddenly cried out, "The Eva unit is producing its own field and is neutralising the phase space".

"WHAT?!"

As in response to Maya's shout, the Eva raised its right hand in a claw and punched through the barrier, and grabbed the Angel's face in one savage motion. With a burst of static, Shinji's eerily angry voice filled the bridge with a shout, "DIE!"

Misato felt numb with shock, "He just ripped through the Angel's AT-field like it wasn't there"

The Eva twisted its arm and with an upward sweeping motion, threw the Angel by its face into the air. Crashing upside down into a large building, it lay stunned but the Eva wasn't finished, with a bloodcurdling howl, echoed by Shinji, it leapt into the air. The Evangelion thrust its knees forward landed on the Angel, the impact drove the knee blades into the red orb in the Angel's chest, cracking it open like an egg. The Evangelion roared in bloody rage, it lashed out at the Angel dissecting it with its claw-like fingers. The Angel obviously deciding that it didn't want to become sushi coiled and snapped its legs at the Eva's torso, throwing it off. Stumbling around the Eva caught itself, stood up, slightly hunched like a rabid animal, growled at its opponent. Without a moment's pause, it seemingly glided along the ground, and caught the Angel with a right hook, followed by a left punch, which sent its opponent flying, not waiting; the Eva burst forward off the ground and slammed down on the Angel's chest orb, with a joined fist slam, smashing the Angel into the ground. Still growling the Eva took hold of the red orb with its claw on Shinji's command intent on crushing it.

Shinji raged, "DIE AS YOU ARE!!"

The cold, deadly voice sent shivers into the people who heard it in the control room, including Gendo's, who was rather shocked at his son's savagery, as he realised Shinji was in control the whole time.

Sensing its imminent demise, the Angels battered and cracked visage, looked up as if in understanding, and seemed to liquidify. Wrapping its fluid arms around Unit one's head. It pulled itself up and curled into a ball, perched on Unit one's shoulders.

Misato shaking herself out of her reverie, recognised the intent in the manoeuvre and yelled, "It's gonna to self-destruct"

At that moment the chest orb illuminated the surroundings with a bright build up of light and consumed Unit one in a column of white fire.

End part 1

I'm rewriting this after I got stuck with chapter 22. I felt I should readjust some of the things that happened in the chapters preceding 22.

I didn't change all that much in this one as I was pretty satisfied with it. All I did was rearranged the formatting, fixed up some errors and rewrote a couple of sentences. I decided to keep some of the Japanese here mainly because SHI-NE and SONO MAMA SHI-NE, sounds a bit better than DIE and JUST DIE AS YOU ARE.

Only posting one now just to test the waters.

Email me if you have any ideas on that you feel like sharing for this fic and a new title for this fic as Evangelion Fighters is a bit lame.


	2. Evangelion Fighters 02 redone

  
  
Evangelion Fighters 

Part 2

Shinji nestled himself in the dark comforts of sleep, where he seemed so at peace that it amazed the people watching over him, as they are still bringing themselves to believe that such bestial savagery was contained in this husk of flesh. Nurses fussed over him during his respite, checking his condition every hour, maybe more as his rugged build and cute-handsome looks attracted a great deal of attention. Walking slowly in darkness, a shape emerged from the shadows, a voice spoke to it, "Was it wise to let him go?" 

The shape giving a hint of shrugging its shoulders, grunted and replied, "We taught him as much as possible, he knows how to survive and his power is growing formidably to the point, where he can frequently match us".

"Hmmm" considers the voice, "Yes, he is quite formidable now, but is he ready?"

"It's all up to him now, all we can do is observe and support him quietly"

Shinji, snapped his eyes open and instinctively checked for any disturbances. Finding none, he laid back and stared at the white ceiling above him, "A hospital, I guess this is, I'd never thought I'll be in one of these". 

Feeling something on his hands, he raised them to see that both hands and forearms have been wrapped in bandages. Frowning slightly, he wondered how he could have been injured. Shrugging it aside, as of no concern right now, he got up slowly to avoid straining any other injuries. As he did this, anyone observing him, could see how well built he was, as his muscles rippled noticeably along his arms and back, as well as his washboard stomach to a toned solid chest, smooth from any hair whatsoever. Looking for his clothes, Shinji found none except for a serviceable hospital gown. Muttering under his breath, he found some underwear to put on and slipped into the gown. Just as he did so, a nurse came in to check on him, rather surprised, she walked up and asked how he was feeling, at the same time admiring Shinji's build in action.

Shinji replied in a gruff voice and said he was okay but a bit hungry. The nurse reassured him that she'll bring him some food quickly, but she needs to check on his bandages first. Holding out his hands with a sharp jerk, startling the nurse, he waited patiently as the nurse unwrapped the bandages with a gasp. She saw these hands yesterday, then they were red, raw and bleeding from deep cuts, now she saw as she poked at now almost-disappeared wounds had her at a loss, except for some tender areas his hands are completely healed. Looking under his gown, she confirmed what she suspected the burns and bruises on his torso were also miraculously cured.

At this point Shinji's stomach decided to rumble the nurse startled, skipped back a bit, embarrassed she remembered that he was hungry; she excused herself to get her patient some food. Shinji dropped his hands into his lap and grinned ruefully, exasperated at his quick healing ability, which he discovered to be quite useful. A noise interrupted him in his muse, as the nurse came back with a tray of what seems to be soup, vegetables and rice. Thanking her, he enquired as to how long he was asleep and where his clothes are at the moment. 

Without looking at him, she answered him as she set out his meal on the wheeled table, "You've been asleep for a day and as for your clothes they are being cleaned as they were quite dirty, when you came in".

"Oh, its there a phone I can borrow around here, then?" He replied.  
  
The nurse said, "Sure there's one outside in the hallway, and don't worry it's free" guessing his next question.

Thanking her once again as she left, Shinji picked as his food as he thought about his next actions.

Meanwhile, a certain Captain Katursagi and a one blonde scientist, were discussing the battle that occurred last night. At this moment they were discussing his level of synchronisation with Unit One. Ritsuko Akagi commented, "It's simply amazing, it's even theoretically impossible for him to get such a high score on his first time" 

"Yeah, he can be full of surprises, but theorise how was he able to get a score of 84.9% in battle on his first go", Misato exclaimed rather hotly.

"Calm down Misato, or you'll burst a blood vessel, the Magi supercomputer, gave us a list of possibilities ranging from pure chance to Shinji having a reaction to danger, as the printouts read that he was in control of the Eva, during the rampage"

The phone next rang, and Misato reached over to pick it up. "Shinji's finally woken up, I wonder what's going through his head right now".

At this exact moment Shinji, was trying to answer a call of nature or he'll explode. Reaching the toilet connected to his room in time, he sat down and tried to remember what happened on the previous night. It disturbed him a bit, since he begun training, he had not experienced that much pain in a while and also he almost lost all his self-control, a control he had honed to diamond strength, to battle rage. Finishing and tucking himself back in, he decided to talk to someone who might be able to answer his question. Striding boldly towards the doorway, he exited his room, noting the number on his way past, and began searching for the phone, the nurse mentioned. A number of people looked at him as he strode past, when he gazed back; they turned their heads away, and pretended not to notice him. Uncaring, Shinji spotted the phone and made his way towards it. 

Picking up the receiver, he dialled, waiting for the other end to answer, he drummed his fingers along the top of the phone.

"Hello?" A female voice enquired.

"Hello, Auntie Yuki. How are you?" Shinji answered good-naturedly.

"Shinji! Did you get there safely? How come you didn't call last night," Yuki-san squealed, "Are you alright?"

"Actually I'm in a hospital at the moment," Shinji replied casually.

There was a pause, then came the frantic question, "You're not hurt, are you? How bad are you hurt? I'll send Kyo there to pick you up straight away. You'll come home to heal and rest right? Shinji? SHINJI?!!"

Shinji tried to calm the frantic woman down over the phone. "It's okay. I'm fine. No, no I won't need for Uncle to pick me up. No, I'm fine really"

"Are you sure?! You're injured already. I knew I shouldn't have let you go with having your uncles with you"

Shinji frowned, "No I'm alright really. I'll be checking out soon, it's nothing serious. I need to talk to Sensei. Do you know where he is?"

There was silence.

"I see. Tell them I'll need to see them soon" His voice was hoarse but heavily controlled not to reveal anything.

"I'll tell them, Shinji." The reply was equally serious. Then it lightened unexpectedly, "Take care of yourself, you hear me?"

"Yes Auntie," Shinji sighed.

Gendo sat quietly in this room lit only by bright fluorescent lights laid into the table at each position of where there's a seat. The effect was this revealed the face of the person sitting at that spot but leaving the rest of the room in shadow.

"Mr. Ikari! The repair costs for Unit 01 on her maiden battle, coupled with the costs for the reconstruction of the armoured buildings added to the repair costs of Unit 00 are enough to bankrupt a small nation." A white haired man with some sort of visor over his eyes roared.

"Surely, NERV and the Evangelions can be used a little more efficiently." Another man with a pointed nose and bathed in green light commented disdainfully.

"The Angels and Evangelions are not your only concerns," Another man in blue declared.

"What about the Human Instrumentality Project. That should be your highest priority," The man in the visor bellowed again.

"That project may be the only hope mankind has in these desperate times," A moustached man in purple asserted.

"I understand." Gendo replied.

"In any case, I will not allow any delay in the schedule of this project," The visored man declared angrily, "I will consider your budget requests"

"Now I understand that the new pilot, the Third has made an attempt on your life," The man in blue remarked.

"That will not be a problem. He will be dealt with when the time comes." Gendo replied.

"What about the intelligence operation? How is that progressing?"

"Now that the Angels have reappeared, NERV must take…measures as to how this knowledge reaches the public"

"There is no need to worry _that_ has already been taken care of."

Shinji wandered the halls of the hospital despondently. He had caught a bit of the news on a television in one of the waiting areas but he grew disinterested as it reported nothing of consequence, just misinformation about what had really occurred. He glanced out a window, finding the green scenery more interesting that anything else at the moment. Hearing a stretcher approaching, he made room for them to pass. To his surprise, he saw the girl from yesterday, just as wrapped up in bandages, one around her head, her right arm in a cast and various dressings all over. Her uncovered eye, swivelled over to him, and fixed him with a stare, silently communicating with him, acknowledging his presence.

Staring after her, Shinji fell into a deep muse, he swore that when their eyes met, there was a sense of something familiar and alien at the same time, like something connected on a higher level. Trusting his instincts he moved to follow the troupe of orderlies surrounding the girl, as his curiosity woke, he decided to find out why he felt that he knew her. However something stopped him, a darkly clad figure appeared in the hallway, Shinji growled as he recognised who it was. The figure stopped the gurney and bent down close to it. A brief flicker in the man's attention and the straightening of his posture told Shinji that he had seen.

Gendo stared resolutely from behind his coloured lenses at the tall young man who slowly approached him. Cautiously he dipped his head in Shinji's direction, "Shinji"

"Old man"

Gendo turned to the nurses, "What are you still doing here? Take the patient to her room"

"Y-yes, sir"

The gurney rumbled away with the now curious albino girl on it.

"Wise move, old man." Shinji shrugged, "Wise for me anyway. You realise you're now alone here with no witnesses"

"Even so would that stop you?"

"No, not really but that girl…what is she?" Unease flickered on Shinji's expression for a moment.

"She is Rei Ayanami, the First Child. A pilot like you are"

Gendo couldn't say anymore as he abruptly found the air in his lungs gone, courtesy of the hard metal wall he had been slammed into. He pried at the grip on his throat; he gave that up for thrashing violently when the pressure increased, choking him. His heels drummed a tattoo on the metal wall behind him.

"I did say I was going to collect when I was finished," Shinji ground out as he slackened his death grip for a moment, allowing just enough for Gendo to suck in air but choking him again just as he tried to yell. "The way I see it, my involvement has ended. Your life is mine."

Gendo gurgled frantically as darkness crept into his vision, blurring the edges of Shinji's hate filled visage. Another slam against the wall robbed him of the rest of his senses as he felt numbness creeping into his limbs.

"W-wai….t….there's….still…one…m-more," Gendo gasped.

All of a sudden he found himself on the ground gulping the antiseptic smelling air that was all so sweet to his abused larynx. He stood up shakily, using the wall behind that had been one of his tormentors as a crutch, a crutch he welcomed.

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked brusquely.

"There is more than one Angel," Gendo rasped painfully but he refused to massage his throat, refused to show anymore weakness, "More will come, they will destroy like the one that just came, if NERV and the Evangelions aren't there to stop them, it is possible for a Third Impact to occur. This time it will wipe out the rest of Humanity, just like how First Impact wiped out the dinosaurs of prehistoric times."

"So what?" Shinji snorted derisively, "I am not some errand boy that you can send off to save the world. You can get another pilot"

"We can't"

"Sure you can, after you went through all the trouble to get me, an untested component to use your toy. There are other pilots that girl; Rei proves that they can be other pilots"

"If there were any other pilots I wouldn't have needed to get you," Gendo said, "You were our last resort. Finding candidates with the potential to synchronise with an Eva is rare. Finding candidates with your potential rarer still, we only predicted that you would have had a thirty percent chance of synchronising with the Eva. Less than that to get it moving"

"I see," Shinji said slowly, "And if I don't pilot again, you'll be forced to use that girl. She'll die in an attempt to do so"

Gendo nodded.

"Then you'll have an extra month or two of borrowed time," Shinji said menacingly, "The girl. I want to see that girl again. Where is she?"

"She'll be in the room next to yours."

"Thank you," Shinji squinted Gendo quizzically for a moment.

Silently, Shinji approached Gendo again, his hands rising to Gendo's neck. Gendo stared at Shinji emotionlessly, braced for impact. He kept his eyes open, staring into Shinji's dark cobalt blue orbs. It was a measure of his resolve that Gendo kept himself from flinching as Shinji's hands slowly made their way to his neck. He was quite pleasantly surprised when he felt no pressure around his throat but a short tug on his collar and the sound of cloth being smoothed. He looked down to find Shinji's hands, tucking the collar and the lapels of his coat back into line.

Shinji smiled mysteriously, "We can't have the high and mighty Commander of NERV looking roughed up, can we?"

Gendo remained silent until Shinji turned away. He smirked as he watched the young man walk away, 'Well that went better than I thought'

Walking in to his pleasant surprise was his clothes laid out on his bed accompanied by his guitar case he left behind, when they activated the Eva robot. Once he was dressed again, he decided to find that girl. As his father had said, she was located in the room next to his, knocking once he walked in. Looking in, he saw that the girl was awake, he made his way over and scrutinised her closely. Seeing past the bandages, he saw that she was actually quite beautiful, if a bit small compared to him, she had skin pale to the point of ivory, pale blue hair cut short, and delicate structure that was quite pleasing to the eye. 

"You are Rei Ayanami?"

She didn't reply, but she looked at him with a single red eye, which answered him without words. Shrugging he pulled a chair closer to the bed, and sat down on it backwards, facing the occupant of the bed. He didn't say anything else after that, he just stared at her. Rei eased her head back, resuming her observation of the ceiling. The silence continued on for some time, Rei had turned her head to the side so she could stare at the stranger that caught her interest, usually people who she met, had a strange need to communicate with her but this one didn't. At least not at the moment.

"What do you require, Pilot Ikari?" Rei asked quietly.

Shinji blinked, "So you know my name."

"Yes, I was informed of your arrival after the battle by Doctor Akagi"

"What are you?" Shinji asked bluntly.

Rei was intrigued by the question; it was one she had contemplated many times before.

"I do not know. I am Rei Ayanami that is all I know"

"I see, you are you but I want to know what you are exactly." Shinji said slowly, as he examined each word, "Your lifeforce. It is strange. It is strong, yet it is like wisp, almost if your soul is not attached to your body"

Rei's breath quickened, it is not possible. He is a stranger, even if he is the Commander's son. He has realised something that he should not know. 

"…"

Shinji stirred finally. Standing up, "I am sorry"

"For what?" Rei asked.

"For causing you distress. I will leave now"

Rei considered this for a moment, as she has never been in this situation before, felt surprised at the young man's words. No one had used those words with her before, nor have they treated her like a real human, most avoided her. Nobody had apologised for their actions to her before, for some reason she felt grateful to this young man. However before she could say anything, Shinji had turned and left. 

Shinji paused in the doorway, "You don't need to say anything. I understand." With that, he exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

Shinji was a bit confused as to what he should do now. Since he is staying around, he would require accommodations but he didn't have any money at the moment, his wallet was in his backpack and that was left in Misato's car. He concluded he would need to find Misato. His search only lasted two steps into the direction of the hospital reception when he was greeted by Misato.

"Hello Shinji!" Misato chirped happily. "I came to pick you up. Heard you were feeling better. I glad you're okay, Shinji"

"Yeah well…" Shinji half muttered as he turned to go.

"Come on, I can take you to your place. HQ's given you private quarters"

"Sure…" Shinji replied despondently.

"Or do you want to live with your father?" Misato said, momentarily forgetting the incident that had occurred in the Eva Cage.

She clapped her hands to her mouth, when Shinji turned to face her with a look that said, 'Are you lacking in the upstairs department?'

"Eh he heh," Misato chuckled nervously, "I guess you wouldn't want that"

"So where will my quarters be, Misato?" Shinji asked.

"According to the papers they gave me, you'll be in Block F, in the same area as Rei," Misato exclaimed, "But are you going to be okay living alone? I mean you're just fourteen"

"I'll be fine alone," Shinji said in the low tone, "I've been living on the road for some time now. I prefer living alone anyways"

"But…" Misato trailed off when Shinji glared at her. "Don't be silly, I'm sure you want some company."

"What part of 'I'll be fine alone' did you not understand?" Shinji's patience with the woman was steadily dropping. "Leave me alone! Please!"

"Hey! What's with that attitude?!" Misato yelled. "I'm just concerned for you!"

"I don't need your concern!" Shinji snapped.

Misato staggered as if she's been slapped, "Fine! I'll change that attitude real quick!"

Whirling around, she pulled out her mobile and dialled.

"Akagi speaking"

"Ritsuko, Shinji's going to be living with me for a while"

"What?! What are you doing, woman?!!" Shinji roared.

At the same time, Ritsuko yelled through the phone, "What?! Misato, this is highly indecent!"

"Don't worry, don't worry," Misato laughed lightly. "I'm not going to jump him…even if he's all hunky like. Just get me approval from upstairs, ok?"

click

Misato closed her mobile; while on the other end, Ritsuko was raging, "Wait! Misato?! MIIIIISSSSATOOOO!!"

Smiling in triumph, she spun around to face Shinji who was staring at her emotionlessly, "Well that should do it"

"Now just come with me, Shinji. We'll have a party!" Misato cheered and turned to go.

"No"

The one word stopped her short. Slowly she turned her head to face Shinji. Her glower died at the grim expression on Shinji's face.

"I will not go with you. My attitude is just fine without interference from you." He snatched the papers Misato held and walked off in the opposite direction.

"Hey, wait! Shinji!"

"You shouldn't worry. After I kill my father I'll be gone anyway. No need to inconvenience yourself trying to get me to live with you." Shinji waved backwards as he walked off, leaving a perplexed Misato behind.

Shinji scratched his head, he wondered if it was wise rejecting Misato's offer like that now. He will have to work with her in the next month or so and added to that, he was lost right now. With the lack of road signs and a proper map he found himself somewhere in the steel and concrete jungle that is Tokyo 3.

"Where is this place?" He looked around and tried to see if any of the places seemed to be landmarks on a crudely drawn map. A quick glance to his left told him someone besides him was here on this empty street.

"Oi!" Shinji shouted, "You there!"

A short haired woman in a black suit and skirt, accompanied by a man in a similar black suit walked out of an alleyway. The woman approached Shinji quietly but the man stayed back in a guarded position.

"Yes, pilot"

Shinji looked at her momentarily, "I suppose you work for NERV"

"Yes"

"How long have you been watching me?"

"Since you left the hospital" The woman replied as she took of her sunglasses revealing a pair of dark grey eyes that enhanced the steely look she wore.

"You could have helped me earlier," Shinji accused.

"….But it wasn't in your job description."

"It wasn't in my job description"

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before," Shinji muttered. "So how do I get to these quarters of mine?"

The woman tilted her head to the right. "It's right there"

Shinji turned to find a rather decrepit apartment building. It was dirty, as evidenced by the dirt piling on the walkways, crumbled concrete and litter that seemed to fill the corners.

"Nice place," Shinji commented blandly.

The woman's mouth twitched at the corners into a slight smile, she spoke into a hidden microphone in her collar and the man from before came out with a manila envelop and Shinji's backpack. He handed them to Shinji, who took them quietly.

Shinji turned to the woman, "Thank you"

"All part of my job," The woman replied stiffly, then she whispered, "I still think you should have choked the bastard a little longer"

Shinji just stared at the woman as she gave him a brief smile and walked off into the shadows again.

Shinji dumped his bag onto the thin bed that was in the surprisingly clean, one room apartment. It had been awhile since he had a room to himself, training with Iori as his sensei meant that he often had to live on the road. He recalled his meeting with Iori eight years ago. He had been six around then, Kyo, his other guardian and uncle had sought out Iori for some reason, he had said that it was due time to end the blood feud once and for all. Back then, his six year old mind had not understood but his uncle had explained it away as him meeting a new friend and teacher. He remembered clapping his heads happily at that, and that was when Iori appeared. Immediately Shinji grew scared of the grim man that was Iori Yagami. Two of the strongest fighters in Japan, and maybe the world faced each other with a child between them.

"Kusanagi. Why have you brought a child to our fight? Even _you_ would not hide behind a child as a shield." The red haired man growled.

Kyo snapped, "Of course not, Yagami. I'm not like you!" He instantly regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth.

"Uncle…" A small Shinji mumbled from behind Kyo's leg, he was clutching it like it would shield him from the scary man.

"So he's of Kusanagi blood like you. How annoying," The red haired man snorted.

"Would you stop with the insults, Iori?" Kyo replied as calmly as he could.

"Feh. Make me, Kusanagi scum" Iori jeered.

Kyo sighed, "I'm not here to fight, Iori, nor am I here to die." He said, cutting off Iori's response.

"This is my nephew, Shinji Ikari," He smiled at the little boy, clinging to the leg of his trousers. Shinji smiled back gingerly.

"So?" Yagami shot back.

"He's the son of Yui Ikari, my cousin"

Silence reigned between the two men for a moment. Until Iori breathed out slowly, "I see"

Kyo looked up and met Iori's eyes, "I intend to end this blood feud once and for all. I will apologise on my ancestor's behalf for all the wrongdoings of the Kusanagi clan against those of the Yasakani clan, now known as Yagami, past, present and future."

He brought out a scroll of carefully written calligraphy, "This is the apology from the Kusanagi clan in writing. Copies of it will be sent to all the media stations once you accept it"

"Why should I accept it?" Iori Yagami rumbled dangerously, "Why should I not kill you here and now?"

"Because I want my cousin's son to grow up properly, he has already manifested the flames," Kyo said sadly.

"He is too young, not even I manifested the flames until I was eight and that was the earliest it has ever occurred in my clan," Iori declared stunned.

"It is the same with me as well."

"Still why do you want _me_ to train _your_ nephew," Iori said.

"Because it was the will of my cousin, she wrote it in her will. I know about your past….meetings with her." Kyo said carefully.

Iori's eyes widened, "I understand then, I will train him"

Iori squatted down as Kyo pushed Shinji forward.

"H-hi, I'm S-Shinji Ikari," The boy stuttered. Taking a deep breath to calm down, he continued, "Pleased to meet you"

"Pleased to meet you too, Shinji, I am Iori," Iori introduced himself, "I was a…friend of your mother"

"Really?" Shinji's eyes shined brightly at the mention of his mother, and then they dulled again when he remembered that his mother was gone. He started crying quietly.

This time it was Kyo who intervened, "Come on, Shinji. Don't cry, your mother wouldn't like it if you did. Come on, kid"

Shinji sniffled quietly but dried his tears quickly.

"The boy has heart," Iori commented quietly.

"That he has, it is good that he has considering who his father is," Kyo said. Suddenly he clenched his fist in anger, "His father just dumped him off like he was nothing. I watched him walk away, leaving Shinji crying there. How I hate that man"

Iori looked at the sniffling boy and suddenly held him in an awkward embrace, "Do not worry, young one. I will take care of you. No one will ever hurt you again"

Shinji didn't know what to do from this surprise show of affection, even Kyo was stunned but with his knowledge of Iori's past he understood.

"So does this mean you accept the apology?"

Iori looked up and growled, "What do you think?"

Kyo chuckled quietly.

Shinji sighed quietly as he set about checking the premises finding it fully stocked with basic necessities, he decided not to take anything out of his backpack as of yet. He set on an electric kettle to boil some water for tea as he waited he indulged in another memory.

Working in shadows caused by a flickering fire, he thrust his hands against the cave wall until his hands bled from his efforts. A rumbling chuckle filled the dank cave, sending shivers down his spine, unused to Iori's creeping up on him. He turned, and out of the shadows, slouched Iori, in his usual clothing, red leather pants with a strap between the knees, a long Oxford shirt half- buttoned, and a cropped black jacket, with a crescent moon design on its back.

Iori spoke softly, "You can rest now, let's bandage your hands again"

"Yes, sensei", replied Shinji.

"Ah, you remind me such much of myself, when I was your age"

"What do you mean sensei?"

"Yes, I used to push myself to the limit, like you do, and let me guess, sometimes you imagine that it is your father, you are beating to death, right?"

Shinji lowered his eyes in shame, and muttered, "Yes, sensei"

"Don't be ashamed, at least you're honest with yourself and your feelings are honest, unlike you, it took me a long time to learn that lesson. In a way I'm learning from you just as you are learning from me."

"But I don't know if I truly hate him, sensei"

"Why worry about it now? You'll know whether you hate him or not. Stick to what I have taught you, don't let your anger and rage get better of you, stay in control," Iori admonished his student.

"Yes sensei."

Misato sighed as she tried to relax in the tub in her apartment, an apartment she shared with no one except for a warm water penguin. She turned off the water flow when the water level reached the height of her breasts. She sighed as the hot water did its work on her tight muscles, the heat soaking deep into her bones making her feel very lethargic.

"So lonely in this place," she sighed as she leaned back and sank a bit into the water where she blew bubbles.

The phone rang as she emerged, Misato picked up the phone she placed next to the bath.

"Hello. Katsuragi speaking!" Misato answered with false cheer, "Oh its you"

"Oh? Is this anyway to greet your best friend?" Ritsuko responded wryly.

"Sorry, Ritsu, I'm not in the best of moods"

"So I see." Ritsuko waited, "Well?"

"Well what?" Misato asked in confusion.

"Are you getting along with him?"

"Him?"

"Shinji," Ritsuko said exasperatedly. Then her tone turned mischievous, "Unless you've been hiding another man from me"

"I have not!" Misato screamed, "You know I haven't gotten a date since I came to Tokyo 3"

Ritsuko chuckled, "So how is he? Did he survive dinner with you?"

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?!" Misato growled, "I can cook perfectly fine"

"Sure you can, just like how I can outdrink you"

"Shut up, you!" Misato pouted.

"Shinji isn't with you, is he?" Ritsuko asked suddenly.

"Well…"

"I see. Where is he?" Ritsuko asked.

"He's at the quarters HQ assigned to him," Misato sighed.

"Oh. I thought you could have convinced anyone with that bright attitude of yours."

"Well, it didn't work this time," Misato muttered despondently, "He just went and got all upset when after I mentioned his father and offered to help"

"Well I can tell you what you did wrong…"

"I apologised for mentioning his father," Misato protested, "He got really huffy when I insisted he lived with me."

Ritsuko sigh could be heard, "You don't know anything, do you?"

"What do you mean, Ritsuko?"

"Shinji was abandoned by the Commander after his mother's death. Shinji would have every reason to hate his father from that alone, added to the fact that Gendo never tried to contact him during the last ten years until recently. His records aren't very detailed but I've found out that he's been living with an uncle of his, normally that would be fine but for the last five years he's been living on the road with an acquaintance of his uncle. His records simply get too messy after that since they never stayed in one place for long but one thing I have been able to find is that even though the name of his guardian is omitted, Shinji's guardian is reputedly a lunatic that had murdered at least twenty people a few years before Second Impact. However he was never charged or convicted of them."

"Oh my god, you mean Shinji has been raised by a psychopathic murderer for the last five years!!!"

"Yep"

"Is this safe? I mean having him in the Eva and all that"

"Well the reports don't show anything wrong with him piloting and a psychiatric evaluation at a school Shinji attended briefly indicated that he showed particularly anti social behaviour to most of the students except for one or two apart from that, nothing indicated that he was a raging lunatic or mental unstable"

"Ok…"

"If anything else, the report stated that he seemed like any normal teenager with a bad past, he didn't start any disturbances, mostly kept to himself, was a model student in class, quiet, attentive. In fact the teachers had nothing really bad to say about him, he was polite when it was required, in fact most of the teachers found him quite the student, minor conflicts only occurred when he thought something was unreasonable or invaded his privacy. So…."

"…asking him to stay at my place was intruding on his privacy," Misato concluded.

"Uhuh"

"I guess that's understandable, he's probably used to living by himself, being on the road more often than not"

"I'll say you nailed it right there"

"Ok. Thanks Ritsuko, I guess I'll apologise when I see him again tomorrow"

"You do that," Ritsuko paused. Sounds of ruffling paper could be heard over the phone, "Does Shinji know that he will have to attend school tomorrow?"

"Shit. I was planning on telling him but he left…"

"Don't worry about then. I'll get someone from Section Two to contact him"

"Thanks Ritsuko, you're a lifesaver"

"What would you do without me?"

"I don't know. I've got to go, I'm starting to get wrinkly," Misato wailed.

Ritsuko chuckled, "Goodnight then, Misato"

"Night"

At that moment Shinji had finished his shower in his Spartan domicile. He dried himself and walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. A low whistle from the direction of his head made him turn his head. Sitting on the bed was the woman from earlier today, but now that he got a better look she didn't seem as old as her behaviour had made her seem. The woman smiled at his scrutiny, it was a mirthful smile, quite unexpected from a secret service agent and the glint in her eyes didn't belong to one either.

"I thought I heard something when I was in the shower," Shinji said at last. "What are you doing here, Miss?"

"Kirishima, Mana Kirishima." The maroon haired woman replied sultrily.

"What are you doing here, Miss Kirishima?" Shinji asked again.

"Well…" Mana smiled naughtily, "Getting quite an eyeful at the moment"

Shinji looked down, making sure he still had his towel in place. He blushed slightly as he was still half naked and the small towel wasn't really helping.

"I'm sure you aren't here just for that," Shinji stuttered slightly at the end, clearly uncomfortable with his nakedness in front of a woman.

Mana sighed, "Well I'm not really. HQ sent me here to inform you that you have to attend school tomorrow. And here I am with all the relevant papers and some supplies you might need." She indicated to a small plastic folder and a small canvas bag that was on the bed with her.

"I'm sure you want to go to bed early," Mana got up. Straightening her black suit and skirt, "I guess I'll see you later, Shinji Ikari"

Mana opened the door and was about to leave when Shinji decided to say something.

"Why do I need to go to school? I don't plan to stay here long, Two months max," Shinji shrugged.

"I know," Mana replied carefully, "But all NERV employees have to receive an adequate education level. During your stay, you are a NERV employee and you have to follow its policies as such."

Shinji growled, "I don't like it"

Mana answered sharply, "I know you don't, neither do I really but like it or not, you'll have to do it or you will be disciplined"

"Che," Shinji snorted, "Wait you too?! How old are you exactly?"

Mana smiled mysteriously as she turned back to face Shinji, "Don't you know it's rude to question a lady about her age?"

"You seem a little too young to be a secret service agent," Shinji commented, suspicion in his voice

Mana's smile dropped at that, "I was six when I was taken in and trained to fight by the military. Then I got transferred here to NERV because I was good at what I was doing"

"I am sorry. For bringing bad memories," Shinji apologised.

"Don't worry yourself," Mana's smile returned, albeit a little forced, "It's all in the past now"

"…" Shinji wisely stayed silent as the door started close.

"By the way," Mana's melodious voice whispered through the small gap, "I'm the same age as you are."

With that the door closed.

End part 2  
  
Woohoo, finally finished that rewrite. Please read and review 

And I also updated chapter one a little, I added some parts I thought would be good to for it. Have a read of that too.

Also thanks to GreyWolf4 for helping me out when I was writing.


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